Children swap school dinners for pub lunches

Pupils at a cramped village school have swapped traditional school dinners for pub lunches.

The pupils probably aren’t having the typical pub lunch…

About 20 children at Pyworthy primary in Devon are now regulars at the nearby Molesworth Arms where they tuck into dishes such as baked potatoes, roast dinners, fish and chips and apple crumble.

Former dinner lady turned pub landlady Denise Short offered the service after she discovered a lack of space at the school meant children were eating meals brought in.

‘For pupils to be able to have food cooked fresh and locally sourced, and sit at the table with a knife and fork rather than a plastic tray in their classrooms, I just thought it was the right thing to do,’ she said.

She also admitted the £2 per head they charged for the meals had ‘helped the pub through the hard times’.

Headteacher Stephanie Olliffe said more children were now choosing to have hot dinners. ‘The uptake is really great,’ she said.

The children use a separate entrance to the pub to avoid going through the bar area and sit in a separate dining room.